Aster has had a varied career, as an advertising copywriter, performing arts organizer, and now as proprietor of Stone Sculptors' Supplies in Escondido, California, the premier carving stone importer on the West Coast.

During her life, she has always maintained her roots in creativity, and expressed them through direct stone carving. She created the two pieces on display at Withywindle at very different times. “Torso” dates from the 1980’s, and the “untitled” piece from the mid-1990s.

Aster says: “Carving is not about arriving at the destination, it’s the pleasure of the journey. Creating nurtures the soul, causes one to see the world through more receptive eyes. A sculptor doesn’t just look at the world around her, she sees and derives great pleasure from the shape of a tree, a ballet dancer, a graceful, powerful horse, a fragile flower. Carving stone makes the world a much more interesting place, more fulfilling, more beautiful.”